Photonics Dictionary

The least space between two parallel lines that can be discriminated as a gap to the human eye. It is measured in terms of the angle subtended by the gap measured at the eye.

The smallest linear diameter to which a laser or other beam of radiant energy is capable of being focused, depending on the quality of the focusing optics, aperture and focal length, beam irradiance...

The smallest area of uniform brightness that can be seen by the eye. It is measured in terms of the solid angle subtended by that area from the eye.

The pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in power distribution among modes of a Fabry-Perot laser, which can result in system-limiting noise.

Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) is a dichalcogenide compound composed of molybdenum (Mo) and selenium (Se). It belongs to the family of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), which have garnered...

In a laser diode, the photocurrent produced by a photodiode that detects the emission from the rear facet of the semiconductor chip. It can be used to provide feedback control of the forward current...

With respect to a crystal, a monoclinic crystal consists of three unequal axes, two of which intersect each other obliquely and yet still form right angles to the third.

Method for reducing laser speckle in which the object field comes from a real diffuse object or the reconstructed object field from a hologram. During recording of the image, an aperture is moved in...

Nanoparticle photonic resonator absorption microscopy is a microscopy technique that combines the principles of photonic resonators and nanoparticle imaging to visualize and study biological samples...

Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at dimensions smaller than the wavelength of light. It involves the study and...

Nanoplasmonics is a branch of nanophotonics that focuses on the study and manipulation of optical phenomena at the nanoscale using plasmonic materials and structures. Plasmonics deals with the...

Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer scale. This technology enables the positioning of objects with extremely high...

A scanning probe microscope that analyzes the surface of a specimen by recording the intensity of light as it is focused through a pipette and raster scanned across the specimen at a distance less...

A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest which is provided by multiple scans within the near-field region of a...

State typically studied in liquid crystals in which the dielectric coefficient parallel to the director is less than the dielectric coefficient perpendicular to the director.

A photocathode having a P-type semiconductor with a work function less than its bandgap. The photocathode can release a hundredfold increase of photoemission in the infrared region.

A telescope with a concave paraboloidal objective mirror and a small plane (diagonal) mirror that reflects rays from the primary mirror laterally outside the tube where the image is viewed with an...

Radiation that does not produce free electrons and ions, or electrically charged particles.

Used in halftone screens to change the fundamental sampled spatial frequency of the halftoned picture, as well as varying the width of the pulse-modulated dots or gratings.

In morphological image processing, a series of erosions followed by the same number of dilations.

An optical channel monitor (OCM) is a device used in optical communication systems to monitor and analyze the performance of individual channels within a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)...

Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into machine-readable text. OCR software and systems are designed to recognize and extract...

The transmission and reception of information by optical devices and sensors.

With respect to microscopy, also called dispersive staining, optical staining the projection of colors through areas of a colorless specimen by color filters that are constructed to fit over the...

A transparent crystalline substance in which the refractive index of the optic axis (extraordinary axis) is different from the other two crystal axes. Two polarization directions are allowed for any...

Pertaining to a device that responds to optical power, emits or modifies optical radiation, or utilizes optical radiation for its internal operation. Any device that functions as an...

A monolithic device containing both photonic and electronic sources, detectors, modulators, etc., on a single semiconductor substrate.

A transistor that uses an electro-luminescent source, a transparent base and a photoelectric collector.

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is...

Optomechanical refers to the integration of optical and mechanical systems or components. In optomechanical systems, optics (related to the manipulation of light) and mechanics (related to the...

Any organic substance, that when dissolved in appropriate liquid based solvents will absorb and emit electromagnetic radiation in the near ultraviolet, visible and near infrared spectral regions....

A laser having a lasing material that is a fluorescing organic dye. Depending on the dye used, it can produce emission in any part of the visible spectrum into the near-infrared and ultraviolet, and...

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to produce light. OLEDs are commonly used in display technologies, such as...

In a cathode-ray tube, the deflection of the beam of the tube over an angle that surpasses the angle that subtends the suitable area of the screen.

Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather than sequentially scanning each source one after another. This approach is...

A standard source of high-charge-state ions for accelerators that has an external magnetic field oriented perpendicularly to the two cathode faces. Also called Philips ionization gauge.

A method of producing disks for erasable optical data storage. Information is recorded by a laser beam that generates pits on the surface of the disk while it is being cryogenically cooled. Erasure...

The effect that the optical losses in a medium can grow when the medium is irradiated with light at certain wavelengths.

The ionization that occurs in gas affected by the action of radiation quanta.

A type of computer in which the electronic circuits, which process data serially, are replaced by photonic circuits capable of parallel processing and thus of much greater speed and power. Where the...

A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) refers to a type of laser diode that emits light from its surface rather than from the edges. Photonic crystals are periodic nanostructures that...

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic...

A photonic engine refers to a device or system that utilizes photonics, or the science and technology of generating, controlling, and detecting photons (particles of light), to perform various...

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and functions on a single chip, similar to the way electronic integrated circuits...